1997 Chevrolet Tahoe problems
NHTSA has received 515 complaints about the 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe, and 25% of them involve brakes. Next are steering (21%) and wipers, windshield & visibility (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 515 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 29 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 90,000 miles 101 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 19 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 15 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 19 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 11 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 11 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 7 |
What the data shows
Of the 101 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 90,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 78,000 miles (25 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 29 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 12 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 32 model years of the Chevrolet Tahoe with enough data (268 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
While in motion seat belt would come undone or wouldn't unlock from lock in order to use. Brakes would slip. My boyfriend was killed in an accident because the seat belt malfunctioned which then caused the airbags to malfunction and the brakes stuck so he wasn't able to slow down sufficiently.
Steering wheel jerks to left or right on cold days when driving at moderate to high speeds. After reading the number of complaints for same exact problem it appears the gvt is waiting for a fatality before taking action. NHTSA action number ea 99011 was closed 02/27/2001 with no action taken.
ABS system comes on at low speeds without brake pressed-vehicle then is hard to stop and pulls to the right. I have replaced all pads and calipers.machine bled system and replaced left frt speed sensor. Took to dealer and was told that the front hubs are exposed and most of the time tear apart and cleaning solves. Am upset the dealer charged a diagnostic fee for something he could have told me on the phone!